mccarthyos Reviews

Sword of Vengeance (2015)

Swords, sandals and tedium

[3/10 · 1 February 2016]

There is not much to say about this tedious film. The production values are all there: it is well shot and the battles scenes are well managed – but there is little else to this film. The cast is competent, and we now have to have a fierce and beautiful young woman in these stories; an essential ingredient these days. The film's greatest weakness, in fact the great error in the production, is the excessive use of slow motion. It is self indulgent and infuriating; all because the director wanted to make it all seem so meaningful, when all it did was make it so dull. Of course, it may have been that he wanted to turn a 60 minute film into a longer one. The motivation is unclear.

The Riot Club (2014)

An alarming look at England's upper class students

[8/10 · 28 December 2015]

This film is often difficult to sit through, so effective it is in showing us how badly sections of the British upper classes behave at University and beyond.It is based upon one or two similar clubs which exist in Britain today; and from which are eventually drawn some of the top people in the UK.

The behavior of these boys is given free reign because of a sense of entitlement with no serious consequences. These young men will get away with their self-indulgences and go on to successful careers, aided and abetted by the old boy's networks who ensure it.

For these reasons this excellent film is deeply depressing.

Leather Jacket Love Story (1997)

Saved by the blonde

[6/10 · 30 January 2012]

I've just seen this film, 15 years after the event. It begins with the usual tedious clichés of gay-themed films: scene queens, bad drag and dull hunks. Once we get to see the young hero, a beautiful young actor by the name of Sean Tataryn, the plot evolves well. He falls for leather jacketed Christopher Bradley and the show goes from there. I see that one reviewer (who clearly needs glasses) thought the young man ugly. Dear God, he was one of the loveliest kids I've ever seen on the screen, more, he could act, turning in a sensitive and touching performance. I am truly sorry his career didn't develop.The film is a few beats better than most gay-themed films, and it was Sean who lifted it for me from a 4 to a 6.

Raging Sun, Raging Sky (2009)

Fascinating, pretentious and tedious

[5/10 · 21 October 2010]

For a film as well made as this, you would rightly expect a good deal of praise. However, it is horribly self indulgent and far too long. I could get 30 minutes out of it without even trying and I think it would still retain its many qualities. Ambiguous storytelling has its attractions, but what is the point of being so ambiguous that the film becomes incomprehensible, even to an old film buff like myself, steeped in 50 years of film festivals and the many cinematic challenges they throw up. I found much of the film compelling viewing, but it was obvious that the director simply didn't know how to end it and so the denouement drags on endlessly. The fast forward button on my DVD player was a Godsend.

Tan Lines (II) (2005)

Gay boys in a yobbo surfing culture struggle to find themselves

[2/10 · 6 February 2008]

As somebody who has criticized many badly made American gay movies, I must blushingly admit that Australia has now joined the ranks of the incompetent in his field.

The premise of Tan Lines is good, if familiar, and the two boy lovers, played by Jack Baxter and Daniel O'Leary, are effective. In fact, Baxter is perfectly cast as the lovely, attractive teenager and is a reasonable actor. O'Leary is almost as good as the troubled older boy, Cass. Their love scenes are the best things in the film. In fact, without Jack Baxter the film would be a complete waste of time. You really do want him to get his man. Apart from a few good jokes, the rest is appalling. The acting rarely rises above that of a third rate amateur theatrical group.

The director Ed, continually misjudges the film's pace, relying on long shots of the surf when he should have left most of it on the cutting room floor and lifted the pace of the film. He mis-casts the brothers Cass and Dan, so that the ineptly acted younger brother Dan is 16 and looks about 23, whilst his older gay brother Cass looks about 20.

The opening shot, that of Jack Baxter asleep with his headphones on, goes on and on and on. Why? Surely it can't be so that we can have the joyous experience of listening to the crappy rock music that boys of his type seem addicted to? There are some interesting and quirky moments which in a better film would have been effective. The fact that the boy sleeps with his abandoned mother, clearly in very difficult circumstances, emphasizes the shallow life that many in the film lead. (In a nice touch we never see her, only her sleeping body buried under bedclothes.) The loony aunt of the boy's putative girlfriend (easily the most dreadful piece of acting I can recall) lives a large house almost empty of furniture. What goes on there is bizarre, and again, could have been delicious in a better film.

Sadly, Tan Lines is just a badly made, badly scripted, badly acted and overlong film. I can almost guarantee that apart from Christian Willis as the teacher, none of the cast is professional and boy does it show. The last thing this film is is a gem, or anything else of substance.

Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)

Weak Wilder movie doesn't improve with time

[4/10 · 5 January 2008]

It is one thing to have to sit through Ray Walston's embarrassing overacting. Ably assisted by his sidekick Cliff Osmond who is nearly as bad. But it is all so tedious. There are fewer good jokes in this film than any other Wilder comedy I can think of. Only the women save it, and the second half is a great improvement on the first. Kim Novak is an actress of limited range but she is perfect for this role and is very moving. Dean Martin is his genial self, his character of Dino cruising through the plot largely unaware of the mayhem and idiocy going on around him. Lucky old Dean, we should have been so lucky. I read that the film upset the usual suspects in the moral outrage business. That alone is enough to recommend it, maybe I should take another look.

To the Extreme (2000)

Not much more than a tedious cigarette add

[3/10 · 5 January 2008]

The story is about a stupidly indulgent young man who is virtually inured to the pain of those who love him simply because he will not grow up. The acting is excellent, the boy playing Greg is particularly good. However, the endless cigarette smoking (surely even the French don't light up as often as the leads in his film) is exasperating in this frustrating and often tedious film. Unless the audience has considerable sympathy for characters like Thomas, the time spent watching the film is wasted. Watching attractive people with their whole lives in front of them drink, sniff coke and generally over indulge themselves is boring, boring, boring. Even the ambiguous ending offers little in the way of hope or redemption.

The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)

Dated vampire flic a great disappointment

[4/10 · 18 August 2006]

When this film first came out in 1967, many of us had a wonderful time with it. The high production values, the stunning photography and the convincing middle European feel, made it an effective film. Apart from the obvious tits and bums jokes, many of the gags were new, and the idea of a gay vampire was fresh and surprising.

Time has not dealt kindly with it. The pace of the film now seems fearfully slow and many of the sight gags are clumsy and irritating. If Professor Abronsius or Alfred had fallen over one more obstacle I thought I would scream with frustration. Most surprisingly is the lameness of Roman Polanski's performance as the assistant. He is weak and ineffectual. Only Ferdy Mayne, as Count Krolock, brings any sense of style or menace to the proceedings. As long as he is on the screen, the tempo picks up and interest is rekindled. Interestingly, if director Polanski took the film back to the cutting room and removed about 15 minutes, it would improve immensely.

The Importance of Being Earnest (1952)

Best film version of a great play

[9/10 · 24 July 2006]

Returning to this classic 1952 version of Wilde's remarkable comedy of manners, and after viewing the new version with Dame Judy Dench, I was struck by how superior it is in every way to the newer version. Simply in terms of acting style alone, it cannot be faulted. According to the writer Sheridan Morley, Edith Evans' famous interpretation of Lady Bracknell was apparently developed in memory the many grand ladies that had kept her mother's family in domestic service for many years. One can well believe it. And director Anthony Asquith has not made the fatal error committed in many recent film versions of Wilde's plays, of 'inventing' extra material to take away their staginess. Their staginess is part of the way the pieces work. Now, all we need is a proper restoration of the Technicolor original and we'll all be happy.

The Actors (2003)

A disappointed customer

[1/10 · 22 May 2004]

It is hard to imagine two actors of such class and experience as Michael Caine and Michael Gambon getting involved in such an embarrassingly inept film. The responsibility for this ill-judged production has to be down to the writer, Neil Jordan and director, Conor McPherson. I doubt I've seen such a bad film with such good credits in a long time. The comedian, Dylan Moran, who made his mark as the irritable and incompetent bookshop owner in the TV sitcom, Blackbooks, turns in much the same routine here, except with such excess and lack of comedic control as to leave one squirming. It is easy to see how the story could have been made to work, for the situation is an interesting one and loaded with comic potential. A classical actor (Caine) tries to rip off the mob (Gambon and co) with the aide of a bumbling wannabe colleague (Moran), with predictable results. It could have and should have been good. Sadly, it was not to be.

Blind Spot (2002)

Wonderfully impressed by this mysterious thriller and the acting of James Franco

[24 February 2004]

I agree with the leading notes, this is a splendid film, and remarkably well balanced when one considers the side tracks that could have been taken. All the performances are fine, particularly that by James Franco as Danny, who's convincing despair at having found love and lost it so quickly (and so violently) is very moving. Apart from his good looks, he essays considerable depth of character that should take him a long way as an actor. Only the ending was somewhat frustrating. It was too rushed, as if once the shooting was over, so was the film. I had become so immersed in Danny's story a little more fleshing out would have helped, for he did go through a visceral experience and lost his first love. To have him happily turning up back at school as if nothing had happened was simply unbelievable. Nonetheless, this is an excellent and mysterious thriller. Perhaps a little too ambiguous for the huge cinema audience that has been fed on pap for so long. I hope it does well, and I sure hope it makes it to DVD as soon as possible.

Jabberwocky (1977)

Bewildering experience

[1/10 · 7 September 2003]

Even for a fan of oddball British comedy it is difficult to imagine a worse waste of time and money than this misguided and misdirected film. 95% of the jokes fall flat, the story is often incomprehensible and it is boring. The astonishing thing is that all this must have been obvious during production. The whole mess should have been left in the can.

Above Us the Waves (1955)

Unimpressed by unintentional satire

[11 August 2003]

If anything essays the upstairs-downstairs values of England, this film does it. Hilarious. Above decks its all 'Well done chaps..' Below decks its more 'Right oh Guv! Almost the archetypal stiff-upper lip British movie of all time. It seems like a satire, but I sure they were all deadly serious.

Li'l Abner (1959)

Excellent film version of a brilliant stage musical

[23 July 2003]

This film preserves one of the great musical theatre treats from the Broadway stage. A funny, off-beat musical version of Al Capp's comic strip effectively transfered to the screen. The songs are splendid and match the mood of the show perfectly. They are satirical, witty and droll and the score is first class. Another Panama and Frank classic.